


Babysitting

by camburrito_eggo



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Babysitting, Bonding, Bromance, Cute, Food, Gen, Lost Child, parenting, what are we doing with our lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26505988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camburrito_eggo/pseuds/camburrito_eggo
Summary: When a kid clings onto Felix for dear life, Felix has to re-evaluate his life. Though him and Ashe haven't ever been much of friends, maybe perhaps fate has something else in store for them.
Kudos: 20





	1. An Unexpected Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work that me and my friend did. She wrote everything from Felix's POV and I wrote everything from Ashe's POV. We wrote this a while ago and thought, why not post it? We hope you like it and maybe in the future we'll write more fanfic for this fandom. Thank you for reading!

Heavy steps laid themselves down on the concrete pavement beneath them, sword scabbard thumping against the hip of a slender, dark-haired man on his way to the village. 

His boots scuffed on the cobblestone beneath where he trod, walking stiffly with purpose and conviction. He would not stop to make idle conversation, or anything of such unimportant matters. It was not critical, for the things that were of importance were the next goal this man had in mind. 

Felix Fraldarius was a man who knew what he wanted, and did not hesitate to obtain it. 

He was going to get a whetstone for his sword. The professor had offered him one, but he had no-so-politely declined, refusing her help. Anything he could do, he would do by himself. He hadn’t trusted anyone before, and no matter how much the professor poked and prodded for any kind of friendship, he would not give in. Not now. Not ever. 

Felix walked briskly, pace quick and straightforward, objective clear in his unclouded mind. 

Out of the corner of his eye he noted children playing around a fountain, dabbling around the edge and frolicking in its waters. Felix had told himself many times that he could not be distracted, in life, or on the battlefield, yet it was unbeknownst to him that he did have a single weakness. 

Children. 

Their innocence piqued an interest in him. They were untouched by the binding pain of the world, pure and loving by nature. So unlike the people Felix met and unwillingly cooperated with every day, with bad intentions and dishonesty brewing in every uttered word. Felix could see through all of them. He had seen many things that had opened his eyes to people’s minds. None of them were good. 

His step faltered as he watched them play. 

Children... He thought, an emotionless gaze upon the young ones. Unknowing… Unassuming...

Though he would not discern it, he was a bit jealous. Perhaps he wouldn’t be what he was if he could have stayed like that. Indifferent to politics and war.

He brushed his shoulder off subconsciously, swatting away the feelings. Inhaling deeply, he kept moving, heels clicking across the solid stone ground. 

As he walked he passed a small dirty boy huddled in the corner of an alley. Felix passed him, subduing his interest. As he walked he felt a burning curiosity, and as much as he attempted to douse the fire, it blossomed in his chest. He heaved a sigh angrily at the ground, and then turned back to the boy. “Hey, kid, what are you doing hanging out in a gutter like this?” He said, failing at an attempt to be gentle, coming off annoyed as a result. 

The boy sniffed. “I can’t find my mama.” His freckled face crinkled in sadness.

“Well you’re not going to find her if you are moping around in a gutter.” Felix breathed. “Pick yourself up. How long has she been gone?”

“A few hours…” The boy sniffed, getting teary eyed. Felix wanted to squirm, an uncomfortable feeling springing up in his gut. 

“Eat this and go look for her.” Felix mumbled, tossing him a few slices of bread he had been saving in his knapsack for lunch. The boy nodded eagerly, scarfing down the slices without leaving a crumb for the mice.  
Felix shook his head, and kept walking nonchalantly. The boy would figure it out, as Felix had when he was young and childish. Tribulating times led to growth and strength, after all. 

He hefted his knapsack higher onto his shoulder, walking in a very dignified manner to the shop. He quietly paid without saying as much as a word, not bothering to utter a single thank you to the shop owner. He offered a single nod. The shop owners knew who he was by now. They didn’t expect much more. 

He took what he came for and began to leave, feeling obligated to train. That was the one thing he came back to every day. No matter what happened, the sword would still feel a familiar instrument in his hands. 

As he walked, he did not look back at the children at the fountain. He could suffer no more distractions. The breeze tousled his midnight-sky- colored hair that was pinned up into a messy knot to keep it out of his face. It teased and ruffled the few strands left out. Felix shoved the locks out of his face. The weather was fair, slightly clouded over. A perfect day for training. 

Felix was consumed in his own thoughts when he was interrupted by the patter of small feet behind him. He whipped his head around, noticing the quiet sound. Behind him was the boy from before following him. He couldn’t be older than six, could he? Felix didn’t know. He didn’t have much experience with children. 

“What do you want, boy?” Felix inwardly winced at the harshness of his own words.

The boy in response rapidly clasped his arms around Felix’s calf. 

Felix let out a yelp, losing his balance and tumbling to the stony ground. “Goodness?!”

“I wanna go home with you!” The boy exclaimed. 

“I don’t have a home! I live in a dorm room!” He said back exasperatedly. The boy looked up at him with big confused eyes, his brown bangs completely obscuring his forehead. Felix’s nostrils flared. “I don’t even know you!”

“I wanna come!”

Felix grumbled complaints under his breath, pulling the kid off of him before giving him a stern push away. 

“I told you,” He heaved, “To go find your mother!” The boy whimpered as Felix stood up and practically ran away.

He booked to his dorm, running in and slamming the door behind him. The other students in the dorm moaned. He’s in one of THOSE moods again...

Felix sat down in the chair by his desk, and caught his breath. He felt a bunch of confused emotions in his chest, ones that he often had no room for. Guilt, confusion... 

This doesn’t make sense. I didn’t even know the boy. I shouldn’t feel guilty. I did nothing wrong. 

There was a knock on the door. Felix hesitantly opened it, the creak echoing through the back of his mind.

The young boy looked up at him eagerly. 

Felix resisted the urge to slam the door in the boy’s face. 

“Look, boy, you aren’t allowed in here. Now scram before I call the knights to take you back to the village.”

The boy looked at him and his eyes started to tear up. Hot tears started running down the young one’s face.

Something penetrated Felix’s bitter, stony heart. “I don’t… please don’t cry, boy.”

The boy looked through his hair at Felix with hopeful eyes. 

“Come in,” Felix mumbled. “But you can’t stay long or I’ll… get in trouble.”


	2. Ashe Makes New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious young boy enters the monastery and Ashe has never seen him before. Ashe follows to him to see where he goes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter I wrote, Ashe's POV.

Ashe was on his way to the dining hall to prepare a meal with Mercedes when he saw a small boy running in the direction of the dormitories. It wasn’t exactly unusual to see kids around the monastery, but it wasn’t exactly normal either. He didn’t recognize the kid. He’s had the habit of spending time with the children that frequented the monastery, and he was sure that boy wasn’t one of them.

Curious, Ashe followed the boy. He was only reminded of his cooking duties when he ran into Dedue. He’d feel awful if he left Mercedes alone with the task.

“Dedue,” Ashe called to ask a favor. “Can I ask you to do something for me?”

“What is it?” Dedue said in his monotone voice.

“I’m supposed to help Mercedes with dinner in the dining hall, but I forgot I have something else to do. Would you be willing to fill in for me?”

He nodded.

“Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to pay you back!”

Ashe left Dedue and continued behind the boy who was significantly ahead of him. He walked faster, almost jogging, so he wouldn't lose sight of the boy.

The boy walked up the dormitory stairs to where the nobles stayed. Ashe’s curiosity grew, wondering what business this kid had with nobles. Just as Ashe was reaching the top of the stairs, he thought he heard Felix’s voice. He sounded a bit irritated. As Ashe reached the top of the stairs, he gazed down the hallway. He saw the young boy walk into a room. It was Felix’s. 

Ashe was confused. Why would Felix let a child into his room? It was very out of character for him. Though he was confused, he was also more curious than before, so he walked to Felix’s door. He heard Felix’s voice along with a young voice, which he assumed was the boy’s, but it was too muffled to make anything out. Ashe softly knocked on the door and the voices quieted. Felix cracked open the door, only enough to see his face.

“What do you want?” He growled.

“Uhh…” Ashe hesitated. Felix was not the easiest person to talk to. “I was just wondering why there is a kid in your room?”

“You’re mistaken. There is no such kid,” he firmly stated.

Ashe shrunk back a bit, but continued, his curiosity taking over. “Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I saw a kid walk in there.”

“Perhaps you were wrong.”

Ashe tried to get a better look into the room, but Felix was just barely too tall. “Do you mind if I check?”

Before Felix could answer, the kid popped his head out through the doorway.

“What are you-”

“Hello!” The boy said with a smile on his face, interrupting Felix.

“Hello to you too,” Ashe said warmly.

“I thought I told you to stay hidden,” Felix said with a frown on his face, obviously irritated.

“I wanted to see who it was,” the boy pouted. 

Felix sighed and rolled his eyes, arms folded tightly across his chest.

Ashe crouched down so that he was eye level with the boy. “My name is Ashe. What’s yours?”

Felix began to answer for him. “He doesn’t have one. I’ve just been calling him-”

“It’s Riju!” The boy exclaimed, fuming.

“Alright alright, I got it,” Felix said, a bit surprised by the boy’s sudden outburst.

“That’s a very cool name,” Ashe said.

“Yours is cool too,” Riju replied.

Ashe stood back up and asked Felix, “So why do you have Riju in the first place?”

Felix sighed. “I was in the marketplace and this kid was all alone. He’d lost his mother and I told him to quit sulking and find his mom. He followed me back to the monastery instead of doing as I told him.”

“You can’t just leave a kid to find his mom on his own!” Ashe argued.

“He’s old enough! It’s not like it’s a big place anyway!”

“To a kid it can be!”

Felix let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine, I’ll admit that it probably wasn’t the best thing to do, but I didn’t have the time or energy to help the kid out.”

“It seems like you do now.”

Felix rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Whatever.” 

Ashe looked down at Riju then back to Felix. “So what are you planning to do with Riju?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t really thinking about it.”

“Well it’s getting close to dinnertime and it’s too late to go back to the marketplace to look for his mom, so he’s going to have to spend the night with one of us. We’ll just have to go look for his mom in the morning.”

“Fine, but he’s sleeping in your room.”

“No!” The kid cried in protest.

Ashe looked at the kid. He seemed to trust Felix more at the moment.

“I think you should have him first. He trusts you more than me.”

“I don’t want a stinking kid-”

Riju clutched Felix’s leg and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Felix peered down at him in surprise. There was no way he could refuse this child.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Fine, but only for tonight.”

“Yay!” Riju exclaimed with a joyous grin.

Ashe smiled at Riju. 

“What are we going to do for dinner? We can’t take him to the dining hall?” Ashe asked Felix.

“We can just sneak some food and bring it back to him.”

“Okay, what should we do in the meantime?” 

“I don’t know, what do you want to do kid?”

Riju thought for a minute then pointed to Felix’s sword. “I wanna fight!”

Felix and Ashe both were surprised. They hadn’t expected a child to want to know how to fight, but everyone has their dreams.

“Let’s take him to the training grounds then,” Ashe said.

Felix nodded and the three of them headed off to the training grounds, being careful not to get spotted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know if I wrote Ashe accurate enough, but I tried.


	3. Riju's Sword Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix trains Riju with the sword while Ashe spectates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written in Felix's POV by my friend.

Felix found Ashe an odd fellow. He hadn’t spent much time with Ashe, besides the occasional outright pointless group tasks the professor made them do. But Ashe was a hard worker, and Felix respected that. He was an excellent archer, and very quick on his feet, as Felix had noticed in sparring with him. There was only one thing that Felix could not figure out. His motivation. Felix knew Ashe wanted to be a knight, like the ones from the children’s stories Glenn had read to him when he was younger, but he didn’t understand why he was helping him out right now. Felix could not believe it was out of the kindness of his heart. There was no such thing as “pure kindness”. It just did not exist. 

And yet, here Ashe was, holding young Riju on his shoulders and laughing like the biggest of the Fargheus's problems had faded away. 

Half of him was annoyed. Didn’t he realize there was warfare and crisis going on every day? Did he deserve to have joy when there were so many who couldn’t? 

The other half was reminded of Glenn. Felix didn't like to think about Glenn.

Unfortunately, needing someone to blame, Felix had blamed his father. The open wound, unhealed and still bleeding, had stung as if salt had been rubbed across it from the way his father had reacted to Glenn’s death.   
He hated his father. He was angry with Dimitri. His brokenness had set off a chain reaction of shattered relationships. 

He was subconsciously aware of this, but he refused to admit. 

“Felix you’re a slowpoke!” Riju giggled, bouncing up and down on Ashe’s shoulders as he ran towards the training grounds. Felix sped up the pace, falling in line next to Ashe.

They snuck through the courtyard and finally snuck into the training grounds, which were luckily empty since it was so close to dinner time. 

Felix grabbed an extra sword off the rack and handed it to the boy. He stumbled under the swords weight, and after regaining his balance, unsheathed it and swung it around wildly. Felix watched Ashe panic a bit, taking the sword from the boy and giving him a practice one.

“You can’t just give a sword to a child! He’ll cut his hands off!”

“I swung a sword when I was his age, he can handle it.” Felix grumbled, fiddling with his sword in its scabbard. He set up a mannequin for Riju to hack at. “Hit it.”

“How?” Riju asked. 

“With the sword.” Felix mumbled back, like it was obvious. He folded his arms across his chest and watched the boy sloppily bat at the practice dummy. 

“Uh, I think he wants you to teach him the correct way to do it?” Ashe suggested shyly, nervously playing with his uniform. 

Felix’s lips drew into a tight line and he stood for a moment, debating, before he went to follow out Ashe’s suggestion.

He crouched down in the dirt next to Riju, watching his stance and technique with the eye of an expert swordsman. He immediately found flaws, but also strengths in the technique of the young boy. 

“Riju, stop for a moment.” Felix said sternly, then he added, “Er, please.”

Riju obeyed, waiting quietly for the next command. Felix admired his ability to follow direct orders. Felix made a motion for him to move out of the way, and he obliged. Felix lightly held his stance and then lashed forwards with his sword, incredibly fast. He made two diagonal slashes with his silver-bladed sword, then sprang back as quick as he could.

“When you fight with a sword,” Felix said smoothly, demonstrating another move. “You must keep a strong stance, but you cannot ground yourself. You must stay agile and quick, for an opponent can oftentimes lash out just as quick as you can.” 

Riju nodded eagerly, hopping up and down to change his footing. 

“Your grip must be tight in your hands, but loose in your wrists. You must be able to swing the sword freely, but not be so loose that it gets knocked out of your hands. You try.” He proceeded out of the way, and watched Riju happily strike the poor cloth figure. 

Felix’s mind fell back. Back to a time where he remembered his father teaching him these things. Strangely, the hatred he felt for his father did not manifest itself to him this time. It was bittersweet and nostalgic, a feeling Felix was unused to. He did not push it away. 

Riju made a very well executed blow, knocking Felix out of his thoughts. Riju beamed, and Felix hid the glimmer of a smile beneath his hand. Impressive. 

The moment was interrupted by the scraping sound of the huge doors to the training room beginning to open. 

Ashe thought fast and pushed Riju gently to Felix, then threw a tattered cloak he had found on the ground over the two of them. 

The professor and Seteth entered. 

“Felix and Ashe.” Seteth barked in a very dignified manner. “You were expected for dinner thirty minutes ago!”

“Uhm s-sir! We are so sorry!” Ashe apologized. Felix felt Riju squeezing his leg, and resisted the urge to shake him off. 

The professor raised her eyebrow at the boys. They were a very unlikely pairing, she noted, without saying a word. And to add to that, they were awfully suspicious. Felix was as stone-faced as usual, but that cloak was not his typical choice at all, not to mention that next to him, Ashe was sweating profusely. 

Seteth nodded. “Professor, please escort your students to the dining hall. I must discuss something with Lady Rhea.” 

“We can escort ourselves,” Felix exclaimed suddenly. 

Seteth drew in a breath, nodding to the professor. “You’re up, Byleth.”

“Thank you Seteth. You wouldn’t want to be late to your appointment. I can take it from here.” Byleth said, returning the gesture. 

This time, Felix started to sweat. The professor was a terrifying woman. She was merciless, and as far as he could tell, devoid of any emotion. He disliked her ruthlessness, but it didn’t seem bloodthirsty. She strode up to the boys, pacing in front of them.

“P-professor.” Ashe stuttered, messing with his uniform. 

“Out of my curiosity,” Byleth said, standing with excellent poise. “What were you two up to in here?”

“Training. That’s why it’s called the training grounds, professor.” Felix murmured. 

“Ah, Felix, snippy as always. What an interesting fashion choice you have made today,” Byleth said monotonously, observing the weathered cloak she had seen Catherine wearing in previous days. 

“It’s warm.”

“I wasn’t aware you got cold so easily.”

“I grew up in a very cold place. Warmth is comforting.” Lies rolled off Felix’s tongue like water off a cliff. Byleth seemed to be satisfied with her interrogation, as she moved on to her next victim. 

“Ashe,” He froze in place when she said his name. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?”

Felix could tell Ashe was nervous. Byleth never spoke of such cordial things unless she was searching for information, and by the looks of it, she was finding much enjoyment in terrorizing her students. 

“V-very lovely.” He chirped. 

“I came to return a storybook I believed to be yours to you earlier, but I did not find you in your room. It seems I had just missed you. Where were you off to at these hours?”

“To train with Felix…?” He said, questioning himself. 

“And I suppose that’s where you were when I ran into Mercedes and Dedue in the kitchen, who said that you had to cancel cooking plans?”

“Y-yeah I over b-booked my schedule. Felix and I had planned to work on my… footwork.” Ashe was accustomed to lying, Felix knew. He was aware of his childhood as a thief, as he was an excellent listener. It seemed Ashe was uncomfortable lying to the professor though. Felix was surprised that Ashe was not telling the truth, but he realized that Ashe was doing so to save Felix from trouble. Felix gained an ounce of respect for him for that.

Byleth knew full well that Ashe’s footwork was excellent, him being one of the most nimble students in the Blue Lion’s house, but she decided to let it slide. She had her fun for the day. “Alright. Clean up your mannequin and head down to the dining hall. They saved some food for you, although if you don’t hurry Raphael might find out and get to it before you.” With that she turned abruptly and left the training room. Though she hadn’t said anything, she had noticed the two child feet sticking out from under the cloak. 

As soon as she had left, Felix pulled the cloak off. He and Ashe heaved a sigh of relief at the same exact moments, and Ashe burst out laughing. Felix laughed a little bit too, too relieved to stop himself. Riju started to laugh too, and soon they were all hurting and teary-eyed. 

“I t-thought she was going to rip that cloak off your sh-shoulders!” Ashe choked out, wiping his eyes and smiling. 

“I thought so too,” He said with a small smile. “When she started talking about the weather, I thought for a moment she was onto us.” 

“Scary lady!” Riju giggled, playing with Felix’s sword. 

After a moment or two of silence while they caught their breath, Ashe said, “We should probably get our food. Hopefully they aren’t too suspicious if we take it to our rooms. Bernadetta does that, doesn’t she?”

“I believe so. But she tends to act like I’m going to murder her every time I see her, so I don’t approach her often.” 

Ashe gasped. “Was that… A Joke?”

Felix shrugged. Ashe looked incredibly surprised, which amused Felix a bit. 

He concealed this enjoyment and mumbled, “Stop gawking, let’s just go already.” Standing up and heading out, he put the cloak back on to conceal little Riju.

Ashe shook out of his shock, and ran to catch up to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	4. Troubles at Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix, Ashe, and Riju have dinner together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by me in Ashe's POV.

Ashe and Felix dropped Riju off in back in Felix’s room, promising to return after grabbing dinner. Riju complained, but we reasoned with Riju saying that if he didn’t stay in the room, Ashe and Felix could be caught and he wouldn’t be able to stay with them. He immediately stopped complaining after that.

They said their goodbyes to Riju and closed Felix’s door. Ashe and Felix walked towards the dining hall in awkward silence. Ashe fidgeted with his hands, looking down at the floor. He couldn’t seem to figure out how to start a conversation with Felix yet. Ashe didn’t talk to Felix much outside class, so he hadn’t really gotten to know what he likes. Well, except sword training of course. 

“Good job back there.”

Ashe stopped, shocked. He hadn’t expected Felix to start a conversation.

“Wha-What did you say?” He stuttered.

Felix turned around, noticing Ashe was behind him. “I just said good job at the training grounds.”

Ashe’s surprise turned into a smile. “Uh, thanks!” 

Ashe walked back up to Felix and continued down the hallway. “I didn’t know you were so good with kids, Felix.”

Felix stared at Ashe confused. “Really? I thought I was doing a bad job.”

“Riju took a real liking to you. You must’ve done something right.”

Felix scratched the back of his neck. “Thanks, I guess.”

Ashe opened the dining hall door, letting Felix walk through before him. 

The dining hall’s busiest time had just passed. There were a couple of people still eating second or thirds, maybe even fourths. Raphael looked like he could still eat much more food. 

Ashe and Felix got in line. It wasn’t very long since they got there so late. 

Ashe grabbed a plate and asked politely for food from the ladies serving food. She served him the amount that he normally ate. It always surprised him how they always remembered how much each person wanted, though Ashe needed to ask for more today. He was about to do just that when he noticed that Felix had grabbed two plates. Ashe glanced at him, trying to communicate with his eyes to ask what he was doing. Felix just looked back at him and just shrugged.

Ashe sighed and didn’t ask for more food, continuing down until the end of the line. One of the ladies had asked Felix why he needed two plates, and he just simply replied that he was grabbing one for his friend.

When Ashe opened the door to Felix’s room, they knew that Riju had snooped around. There were all sorts of small weapons on the floor, from daggers to bows and arrows, and then there was Riju, trying to yank out a dagger that had gotten stuck in the wooden bedpost. Felix’s relaxed face was now angry.

Ashe hurriedly set his plate on Felix’s desk and grabbed the two plates Felix was holding and set those on the desk as well. He was afraid that Felix might accidentally throw one at the wall.

Felix stalked up right to Riju, picked him up, and set him on the bed. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Felix said harshly, his expression showing now mercy.

Terror seeped through the Riju’s veins. “I-I was just trying to practice.”

“You got my weapons all over the floor and you ruined my bedpost!”

Tears welled in Riju’s eyes. “I-I’m so-sorry,” he stuttered.

Tears fell from Riju’s eyes and he cried, his hands trying to wipe away the tears.

Felix, not expecting this, backed off, unsure of what to do. 

Ashe walked over to the child, knelt down in front of him, and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into an embrace. 

Ashe glared at Felix. “You’re being too harsh.”

“It’s not like I would’ve known that.”

Ashe sighed. “Just do something useful and clean up your weapons.”

Felix did as Ashe said and quietly cleaned up his weapons while Ashe continued to hold Riju. He rubbed his back and muttered “it’s okay” while he cried.

Once Felix finished, Ashe pulled away from Riju and asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

Riju pulled his hands from his eyes and quieted down. “Y-Yeah.”

Ashe stood up and grabbed Riju’s dinner plate, handing it to him. “We brought you dinner.”

“Thank you.”

Riju slowly started to eat his meal and Ashe grabbed his plate as well, sitting next to him on the bed. Ashe glanced back at Felix. It appeared as if he wanted to say something, but he decided against it and grabbed his plate, sitting next to Ashe.

They ate in silence until everyone was done.

Ashe collected everyone’s plates to take them back to the dining hall, but Felix insisted he take them, so he left with the three empty plates.

Ashe glanced back at Riju. The redness under his eyes had gone down, but it was still noticeable. Felix shouldn’t have been so harsh. 

“I promise Felix is not always like that,” Ashe said. “He just sometimes can have outbursts.”

Riju nodded but didn’t reply.

Ashe got off the bed and knelt in front of him, having thought of a way to make him feel better. “How about we play a little game?”

Riju’s expression lit up. “What game?” He asked.

“In this game, you try to see how many times you can make the other smile, and whoever gets the most smiles out of the other, wins.”

“Can Felix join too?!” Riju asked enthusiastically.

Ashe was a bit surprised, but not as surprised as he could've been. “Of course he can. We should keep it a secret. Then he won’t know that we’re playing a game.” 

Riju smiled. “I like that.”

Riju and Ashe played only three rounds against each other by the time Felix came back. He’d come into them laughing on the floor.

Felix, surprised by the sight, let a little smile on his lips.

Ashe got up from the ground once he saw Felix. 

“Oh hi Felix!” he said. “We were just playing a little game.”

Riju giggled.

“It must’ve been a fun game,” Felix said warmly.

“Yeah, it was,” Ashe said, looking at Riju who also glanced back. 

It was their little secret.

“It seems to be getting late. I should probably go to my dorm,” Ashe said, looking at Riju. “Are you sure you still want to sleep in here?”

“Yes!” Riju answered with enthusiasm. 

Ashe looked back at Felix. “Take care of him and make sure he gets a good amount of sleep.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “I will.”

“Goodnight Riju and Felix! See you in the morning for breakfast!”

Ashe waved to them as he walked out the door and left to his dorm.


	5. Felix Sings A Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Riju asks for Felix to sing a song, Felix refuses, but some convincing may chance his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! It was my friend's turn to edit her chapter, but she got busy and stressed with school so she wasn't able to do it until recently. Hopefully we'll be able to update weekly after this, but you just never know. I hope you enjoy my friend's chapter!

Though Felix hated to admit it, he was guilty for being so harsh to the boy. He admitted to himself that he was bad with children. But he hadn’t so much as talked to one for around three years, unless you counted Flayn or Cyril. Even then, the only reason he had talked to either was because he had been forced to go to tea with Flayn by the professor as a lesson in “social skills” and had briefly given some tips to Cyril on his training. But never anyone this young. Wasn’t Riju supposed to listen to his superiors? Felix sighed. Taking care of children was much too complicated. 

Felix yanked the dagger out of his bedpost and tossed it in a drawer, not saying a word.

Did he need to say sorry? He never said sorry. I mean, most of the time he was incredibly blunt with people, and he had never said sorry then, right? 

All of these emotions were giving Felix a massive headache. 

“Riju,” Felix mumbled hesitantly.

“Yes Felix?” 

“I shouldn’t have been so cross like that. But you need to respect other people’s property. I’ve been collecting weapons for a long time. Should you have broken one, It would have taken a lot of money to fix it, money that I don’t have on me at the moment. Then I would have to ask my father for money. And I do not like talking to my father.”

“Why don’t you like talking to your father?”

“For… Reasons. Now get into bed.”

“But I have to pee!”

Felix inhaled deeply, trying not to blow his top. 

“Then let’s go.” Felix said, leading Riju to the restroom as the sun began to set. He waited impatiently for Riju to relieve himself, having to endure a short but annoying conversation with Sylvain, who thankfully left before Riju was done. Riju skipped out of the restroom. 

“Did you wash your hands?”

“Nope!” He grinned.

“Go back in there this second and wash your hands.” Felix groaned, pushing him back in. Riju came back out with wet, water-dripping hands, drying them on his shirt and Felix nodded, satisfied. They went back to his room and Riju got into Felix’s bed. Felix went to blow all of the lit candles out to turn off the lights, but he was interrupted.

“WAIT!” Riju yelped.

“What?!” Felix exclaimed, anxious at his outburst.

“My mom always sings me a song and it helps me sleep.” Riju said eagerly, snuggling under the blankets and peering up at Felix with big blue eyes. 

“You can’t be serious.” Felix said rather nervously. “You want me to sing you a song?”

“Yeah!” Riju chirped. “A lullaby!”

Felix gulped, flushing slightly in embarrassment. He was terrible at singing, and he was fully aware. He left the singing to Annette, with her silly little ditties. He regretted not taking any advice from her at this moment. 

“I don’t sing.” 

“You don’t have to be good at it.”

“I’m sure I haven't sang since I was seven.” 

“Just do it!” 

“I really think that this is not the best idea.” 

Riju made giant puppy-dog eyes at Felix. “Please?”

Felix mumbled complaints under his breath and folded his arms across his chest. “Fine.” 

“Yay!”

Felix cleared his throat, beginning to sing a Faerghus nursery rhyme he very vaguely remembered his brother singing to him as a child. The notes were surprisingly crisp and on-tune, and he was surprised that he didn’t sound that bad. In fact, a bit more practice and maybe he could attend choir on- no. That was a terrible idea. What was he thinking?

He finished up the lullaby and tucked Riju in, who had already fallen asleep. He sat down in the desk chair and leaned back, looking out the window at the stars, after blowing out his candles. 

For the first time, he wondered if perhaps Glenn was looking down on him. 

I hope he’s proud.

And with that, Felix fell asleep.

The next morning Felix sat up groggily, incredibly sore from the uncomfortable position he had been in. He had come to the conclusion sleeping upright in a hard wooden chair was uncomfortable and undesirable, although he probably could have come to that conclusion without trying it. 

He stood up and arched his back. He hadn’t changed out of his uniform last night, and it was strange to him to think he had forgotten. 

He looked over in his bed and saw little Riju, peacefully snoozing away. He remembered all the events of yesterday in a blur and wasn’t sure whether he should smile or scold himself. 

He looked out the window at the sun and estimated it was about time for breakfast. He was about to head down to the dining hall, but he was unsure if he should leave Riju alone in here again like last time, fearing another weapons incident. He shooed the thought away with a flick of his wrist, and let Riju sleep.

He brushed a wrinkle out of his shirt, not aware his appearance was a bit disheveled, and went to the dining hall to sneak some breakfast. 

The pleasing smell of baked goods and fried foods greeted his nostrils, and instead of storming in and out quickly to go to training, he took his time. He watched the houses laugh and eat together, hoping to spot Ashe. 

In the meantime, he grabbed two plates of food. Telling the cooking lady he was very hungry, he went and sat down in his usual spot by Ingrid and Sylvain. It was very amusing to watch Ingrid scold Sylvain for pretty much anything he had done, so he did not ever say all that much. Of course, here and there Ingrid or Sylvain would ask him something, but he always felt rather disconnected. He knew it was his own fault, but he tried to be content with it. 

“Felix? Are you alright? You look dreadful.” Ingrid observed as he sat down. Felix just grunted in response. 

“Where is pristine princess Felix?” Sylvain exclaimed teasingly, punching Felix in the shoulder. Felix punched him in the face, knocking him out of his seat.

Ingrid just chuckled, “There he is!” 

“Late night.” he mumbled, shoveling food into his mouth. He looked around the dining hall once more, scanning for Ashe. 

Ashe walked into the dining hall and Felix quietly excused himself to go see him, surprising both Sylvain and Ingrid. 

“How’s Riju?” Ashe asked immediately. 

Felix responded, “He’s fine, I think.”

“You think?”

“Well... When I woke up he was sleeping.”

“Did he get to bed last night okay?”

“Yeah, I took him to the restroom and then he... Went to sleep.” He left out the portion of the lullaby, rather embarrassed by it. 

“Oh, thank goodness. I was afraid he would keep you up all night long.”

“No. But sleeping in that chair did, that’s for sure.” Felix rubbed his face, brushing his even-messier-than-normal hair out of his face. “If we can’t find his mother today, you are taking him tonight.” 

“Deal!” Ashe said enthusiastically. Felix shook his head and walked with Ashe as he got his food. They went back to Felix’s room afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the late update!


	6. Black Ink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix, Ashe and Riju make their way to the market, only to be stopped by Professor Byleth. They had forgotten that class was soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Ashe's POV written by me.

Ashe and Felix ate breakfast with Riju, then walked to Ashe’s room to grab his cloak because they figured it would be the best way to hide Riju. 

Ashe walked into his room and opened his closet. When he glanced back at Felix and Riju, there was a small look of surprise on Felix’s face. Ashe, confused by Felix's expression, looked around his room and realized it wasn’t very clean. There were books open all over the floor, along with a quill and scattered papers.

“Uh, sorry about that. I was just studying,” Ashe said as he grabbed his cloak off from one of the hangers.

“I didn’t think that you were the type to have a messy room,” Felix replied.

“Well, it’s not always like this, but it does normally end up this way.”

Felix nodded and Ashe fastened his cloak around him. Ashe held his hand to Riju and he took it eagerly.

“Stay close to me so you’re not seen,” he said, putting his cloak around Riju.

Riju nodded and Ashe and Felix made their way to the marketplace as they conversed. Just when they were about to leave the monastery, they heard a voice speak right behind them.

“Where are you two going?”

Ashe froze. He could feel Riju scoot closer to him and clench his hand around Ashe’s more tightly. Ashe was unsure of what to do, but Felix decided to take charge of the situation and turn around.

“Just heading to the market, professor,” he said smoothly.

Ashe glanced behind him to see the professor.

“You know that you have class today,” she said, sternly.

Ashe and Felix looked at each other. They totally had forgotten.

“It seems that we had forgotten,” Ashe said shyly.

“I better see you two in class in the next ten minutes.”

Though she didn’t threaten them with anything, Ashe did not want to know what would happen if they weren’t there in the next ten minutes.

Byleth left the two and Ashe let out a shaky sigh of relief.

“I was scared there for a second."

Felix nodded, but looked uncensored. “What are we going to do with Riju?”

Ashe peered at the little boy inside his cloak. “We’ll just have to leave him in my room.”

Felix nodded.

Riju let out a cry of complaint. “I don’t want you to leave me!”

“We’re going to have to. We can’t bring you to class,” Felix said.

Riju pouted.

“We promise to come back to you as soon as our class ends,” Ashe said kindly.

“Fine.”

They dropped Riju into Ashe’s room. Ashe told Riju he could do whatever he wanted as long as he didn’t ruin anything.

Ashe put his cloak around Riju. “Can you stay here and be a good boy?”

Riju nodded.

Ashe patted his head. “We’ll be back before you know it!”

With that, they closed the door and the two walked to their class.

Everyone was already in their seats when Ashe and Felix arrived. They quickly took their seats and Professor Byleth started the lesson with battle strategies. 

After an hour of hard work, Ashe thought he heard a slight creak come from the doors of the classroom. He looked back to see someone peeking through. It was Riju! What was he thinking? 

Ashe raised his hand. “Professor, may I go to the restroom?

Byleth looked at Ashe and nodded in conformation. Ashe excused himself and walked out of the door, closing it behind him. He saw Riju only a few feet away.

“What are you doing?” he whispered frantically.

Riju looked down and kicked the ground. “I wanted to see you.”

Ashe picked Riju up, who was still wearing his cloak. It was nice that it wasn’t the summer months, otherwise it would be impossible to wear a cloak inconspicuously. 

“I know,” Ashe said. “I want to see you too, but no one can know about you. Otherwise, you won’t be able to stay with Felix and me.”

Riju’s eyes widened in realization.

“We just have a little longer. I promise we won’t forget about you.”

Riju nodded and Ashe dropped him off at his room.

When Ashe entered the class, Felix sent a questioning look his way. Ashe mouthed him, tell you later.

The rest of the class went smoothly with no more surprise visits from Riju.

Ashe and Felix gathered their newfound homework and headed out of the classroom.

“What was that about earlier?” Felix asked.

“Riju had peeked through the door, so I excused myself so I could go put him back in my room.”

“Huh.” He murmured, mostly to himself Ashe assumed. “That wasn’t very smart.”

“Yeah, but it’s cute that he just wants to see us.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

Ashe and Felix walked the rest of the way in silence and walked into Ashe’s room. They were met with a running Riju, who jumped onto Felix. Felix fell onto the ground in surprise and Ashe giggled at the sight. “I missed you!” Riju exclaimed.

“I missed you too,” Felix said, smiling.

Riju got off Felix and turned to Ashe. He gave Ashe just as big as a hug.

“I’m glad to see you’ve missed us,” Ashe said, pulling away from Riju. “We need to go get lunch though, so can you wait a little longer?”

“No!” Riju shouted, clutching Ashe’s arm.

“I need to get you food. I can’t do that with you-”

“I’ll just grab your food. You can just stay here with Riju,” Felix said.

“I can’t make you do that. How would you even carry all our plates?”

Felix smirked. “I can manage.”

Ashe let out a sigh. “Fine, but you’ll have to let me repay you later.”

“Alright, see you two in a little bit.” 

Felix left the room, shutting the door behind him. 

Ashe pulled Riju onto his lap as he sat on his bed.

“So, how’s our game going? Have you made Felix smile?”

Riju frowned. “Only two times.”

“That’s okay, I’ve only made him smile once, so you’re already winning.”

Ashe grew quiet, thinking. 

“I have an idea,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “What if we try to get Felix to smile when he comes back?”

Riju’s face lit up and nodded in agreement.

Ashe looked around the room, trying to find something that could possibly make Felix smile. His eyes fell on the black ink he uses for his quil. He set Riju on the bed and grabbed the quill ink off his desk.

“How about we draw silly stuff on our faces?” Ashe asked with a smile.

“Yeah, let’s do that!”

“Do you want me to draw on your face first?”

“Yeah!”

Ashe unscrewed the lid and dabbed his finger in the ink.

“What do you want me to draw?”

“A mustache!” Riju exclaimed.

Ashe laughed. “Alright then.”

Ashe drew a mustache and a beard, with Riju’s permission of course.

“Okay, your turn!” said Riju as he dipped his finger in the ink. “What do you want?”

“Just do whatever. It’s up to you.”

Ashe closed his eyes while Riju drew up a storm. Riju drew a mustache, a goatee, a line on Ashe’s forehead, and swirls on his creeks.

“I think we look great,” Ashe said while ruffling Riju’s hair.

Riju let out a small giggle. “I do too.”

“Ashe, can you open the door?” said a muffled Felix from the other side of the door.

“Yeah, of course.”

Ashe opened the door in a way so that his face wouldn’t be seen quite yet. Felix set the plates on the desk. He had somehow held two plates with one hand. Felix turned to Riju and Ashe and was surprised to find two faces of ink.

Felix was shocked and was quiet for a moment before letting a series of laughs. Riju and Ashe joined in, unable to hold theirs back.

“You guys look ridiculous,” he said in between laughing breaths.

“Thanks, it was my idea,” said Ashe.

“You guys need to wash that off though. You won't be able to go to the marketplace like that.”

“Yeah, we got it.”

Riju and Ashe washed off the ink, with intense scrubbing, and ate a quick lunch. Ashe hid Riju under his cloak again and they headed off to the market.


	7. New Friend, Old Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix, Ashe, and Riju head to village in hopes to find Riju's mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix's POV written by my friend.

When Felix had walked in, he couldn’t help but laugh. They looked so stupid! What was even more amusing, was that they were playing a secret game. He overheard them talking about it before he came in. He didn’t know what it was, but he was determined to win. 

They all chowed down together, and then Felix freshened up a little bit, washing his face with some water. He took out his hair and brushed it, then fastened it back up. He also instinctively brushed Riju’s bed head, trying to be gentle through his unruly snarly hair. Afterward, Riju took the brush from him and clumsily brushed through Ashe’s hair. “We can’t leave Ashe out!” He cried, and Ashe laughed, staying still for the soon-to-be hairstylist.

“Alright,” Felix breathed finally, everyone being ready. “Let’s go to the village now.”

“Okay!” Riju said, jumping on the bed. 

Felix sheathed his sword, and Ashe asked, “Why are you bringing that?”

“I don’t go anywhere without my sword.” Felix responded, the answer seemingly obvious.

“But you aren’t going to get attacked out of nowhere,” he reasoned. “And if you did, you’re good enough at brawling and hand to hand combat that you would be fine.”

Felix couldn’t deny that Ashe had a point. Why did he bring his sword everywhere?

When Felix didn’t respond Ashe continued, “I think it comforts you.”

Felix immediately responded with a harsh, “What…?” 

Ashe got nervous and said quickly, “N-nevermind, it’s nothing, I shouldn’t have said anything…”

Felix sighed, knowing his manner had scared Ashe off. “I’m sorry… if I sounded mean. You caught me off guard, that’s all. Do go on.” Then he added quickly, “Uh, please.”

Ashe seemed surprised at the apology, but he nervously went on, “Well, you’ve been sword fighting all your life. You were raised doing it. Your family taught you.”

“Glenn always beat me…” Felix murmured softly, fiddling absently with his sword.

“What?” 

“Nothing. Keep going.”

“Anyways, it’s natural because even though you dislike your father severely, that’s a tie you had with him.”

Felix scowled at the mention of his father. “I’ve never been one to be sentimental, Ashe.”

“I know, I know, but it’s natural for people to have connections to things that symbolize relationships and things.” 

Felix wanted to deny it immediately, not wanting to admit to something like that. But he swallowed those feelings down, and responded instead, “Perhaps you are correct.” 

“You know, feeling emotion isn’t a weakness.” Ashe added quietly. “I think it’s a strength.” 

Felix nodded, a bit at a loss for words. 

“Can you guys stop talking about grown up stuff?!” Riju yelled impatiently. “Let’s just goooo!” 

They walked at a slow pace, something that Felix was unaccustomed to, as Riju raced around them curious at all of the new things he hadn’t ever seen before. 

Felix and Ashe searched around aimlessly, asking everyone they could find if they knew of someone missing a child. People were slightly intimidated by Felix’s intensity, so Ashe had to remind him to be gentle. Though it didn't matter, for all of their efforts were fruitless. 

“Where could this woman be?” Felix groaned. “She left her son in a village, why is she not looking for him?”

“Maybe she is looking somewhere else…?” Ashe suggested. Felix shook his head grumpily.

“Let’s go back. We can come back here again tomorrow.” He said, stretching towards the sky. 

“Yeah!” Riju said. “This is super boring.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Felix said, before Ashe could object. 

“Felix, promise me something though.” 

“I don’t make promises, so it better be one I can keep.” Felix said adamantly, crossing his arms. 

Ashe took a deep breath. “We have to tell the professor if we don’t find his mother.”

Felix frowned begrudgingly. He did not want to ask for help, and certainly not from the professor. He just needed more time. 

“Fine,” He responded finally, “But give us one more day.” 

“Wow, you’re really fond of Riju, aren’t you?” Ashe said with a mischievous smile. Felix shook his head in anger, covering up his embarrassment. 

“That’s not it at all.” He grumbled, then stalked off towards the monastery.


	8. Watering Plants in the Greenhouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashe, Felix, and Riju go to the greenhouse and water plants, along with playing a fun game at night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashe's POV written by me.

“We still have some time before dinner is ready,” Ashe commented.

“Yeah, what should we do in the meantime?” Felix asked.

Ashe thought for a moment. “How about we go to the greenhouse? I have plants there that I need to water anyway.”

Felix nodded. “Sure, that sounds fine.”

“Are you okay with that Riju?” Ashe said, looking down at him under his cloak.

“Yeah!” He said with a bright smile.

“Let’s go then!”

Felix, Riju, and Ashe shuffled to the greenhouse, taking the long way so that they didn’t run into anyone. 

Ashe peeked inside the greenhouse. It was empty. 

Ashe sighed in relief. “There’s no one in there.”

“That’s good.” Felix walked through the door, with Riju following close behind.

“My plants are in the back,” Ashe said, closing the door behind them.

“Wow! There are so many plants!” Riju exclaimed.

“It’s called a greenhouse for a reason,” Felix scoffed.

Ashe walked over to his plants. “It seems that they just need some water and maybe a bit of magic.”

He walked out of the greenhouse with a bucket, scooped up some water from the pond, and walked back to his plants.

“Do you want to help me take care of my plants Riju?” Ashe asked while setting the bucket down and kneeling on one knee.

“Yeah!” Riju jumped next to Ashe.

Ashe smiled then grabbed the small cup that was attached to the bucket.

“Each plant just needs two cups of water. These are all my plants.” Ashe pointed to his plants and handed the cup to Riju. “Here you go."

Riju grabbed the cup and scooped up some water. “I just pour it on the plants?” Riju asked.

Ashe nodded. Riju poured two cups of water on each of the plants.

“All done!” he said as he finished.

“Good job.” Ashe ruffled the little boy’s hair. “I’ll just add a bit of the little magic now.”

Bright magic flowed through Ashe’s hands and into the plant.

“Wow, that’s so cool,” Riju said in amazement.

Ashe smiled. “Yeah I guess it is.”

Once Ashe stopped the flow of magic, he picked up the bucket, looking at the flowers. The plants looked like they’d grown a little brighter.

“We should probably head back to my room. We can hangout there until dinner,” Ashe said.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Felix replied.

The three of them set off back to Ashe’s room.

It wasn’t long before dinner was being served, so Felix went and grabbed food. During dinner, Riju shared some funny and embarrassing stories, some may have been dramatized, but it was funny to see how into it he was. Ashe shared a story on how he was caught eating peach sorbet by Professor Byleth at night. She scared him so bad that night that he slipped and landed on his butt. It was funny now, but at the time, it had been terrifying. Felix reluctantly shared one about training, but he made it short. He seemed embarrassed by it. We tried to get him to say more, but he wouldn’t, so it ended up not being as good of a story.

After they finished with dinner, Ashe brought back the dishes and they played a game of Guess What I Am when he came back. Riju got Felix and made the perfect impression of him. Felix was baffled by Riju, saying that there was no way he acts like that, but Ashe and Riju knew better.

“It’s getting late. I should probably head back to my dorm,” Felix said once they finished a few rounds of the game.

“Aww…” Riju complained.

“I’m sorry kid,” Felix said while ruffling Riju’s hair. “I really gotta go. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

Riju pouted. “Okay.”

Felix opened the door and started to walk out, but was met with a tight hug around his legs. Felix was surprised, but his expression melted into a soft smile and he patted his head.

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

Riju nodded and let go. Felix waved to the both of them and Ashe closed the door.

“It’s time for bed,” Ashe said.

Riju yawed and nodded. Ashe helped him on the bed and tucked the blanket around him.

“Can you read me a story?” Riju asked.

“Sure,” Ashe said. “How would you like a story about a brave knight?”

“Yeah! I love knights!”

“Me too! This knight is just like Felix in this story.”

“Really?” Riju said with amazement.

Ashe giggled. “Yep!”

Ashe grabbed the book and leaned his back against the bed, jumping straight into the book since it was one of his favorites. “Once upon a time…”

By the time Ashe had finished the story, Riju had fallen asleep. He looked at him with a soft smile and brushed his hair out of his face.

“Good night Riju,” He whispered softly.

Ashe set down the book and lit a candle, studying for a bit. A test was coming up and he needed to be prepared for it, though after a while, Ashe started to yawn, so he decided to call it a night. He grabbed his spare pillow and blanket and set them up next to Riju. He climbed into the bed and looked at Riju one last time before he closed his eyes. Ashe smiled and whispered another good night to Riju. Then, he fell asleep.


	9. Ride With a Wyvern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to take young Riju home but can't they play one more game?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix's POV by my friend.

Felix awoke the next morning feeling more rested than he had ever been in a very long time. He yawned, stretching sore limbs, and subconsciously dusted off the trousers he had slept in. 

I could just… He thought to himself, rubbing his eyes. Sleep in…

He sat up abruptly, appalled by his own behavior.

“How dare I think such a thing?” He said out loud, scolding himself profusely. “Disgraceful!” He stood quickly, frowning deeply. 

Before he could beat himself up further, there was a pounding on the door. Felix moaned quietly to himself, then tugged on a shirt and opened up the door. 

“Felix!” Riju exclaimed, hugging Felix from atop Ashe’s shoulders. Ashe yelped, surprised by the sudden movement, and almost stumbled over. Felix steadied him with a firm hand on the shoulder. 

“He insisted we surprise you.” Ashe chirped, offering a smile. 

Felix had to admit, he had grown rather fond of the both of them. Riju’s innocence paired up with Ashe’s kindness had really gotten the best of him. The more time he had spent with Ashe, the more he had realized that the boy didn’t have an ounce of bad motives in him. Sure, he was often flustered easily, a bit too trusting, and sometimes clueless. Not to mention his undeterrable positivity. But oddly, despite all that, Felix had come to the conclusion that he really wasn’t that bad. He was reliable and steadfast. 

Felix offered a hint of a smile, and brushed a hand through Riju’s unruly hair. “Hey, kid, nice to see you. Sleep well?”

“Yeah! Ashe read me a story about you!” 

Felix remained emotionless, but cocked an eyebrow. “About me huh?” He remembered a brief conversation in the library with Ashe a little while ago, about a book he was reading. An old tale about a knight who Ashe compared to Felix. 

“It was the children’s book about-”

“The knight. I remember.” Felix said, finishing his sentence. 

Ashe seemed nervous. Felix did think it was strange, and stupid, but it was rather unsettling that Ashe thought he would be angry, or anything of that calliber. 

Riju giggled and ran around Felix’s room after Ashe had taken him off his shoulders, pausing to examine where he had previously stuck a dagger into the bedpost. 

“Be careful,” Felix chided. 

Ashe noticeably relaxed, realizing Felix had let the topic slide. “We don’t want any more accidents!” He laughed. 

Felix nodded. “Now, if you’ll excuse yourselves so I may get dressed.”

“Of course. C’mon Riju!” Riju skipped out behind Ashe, singing some nursery rhyme as he did. Felix exhaled, and put on his uniform, neatly folding his clothes on his bed. He tugged on his boots, and pulled his hair back, thinking about how today was the last day to find Riju’s mother before they would have to tell the professor. Felix was starting to doubt their chances of finding her. They had gone to the town square multiple times, to no avail, it seemed. 

Felix exited his room, and met Ashe and Riju in the hallway. They snuck out to the courtyard, and just walked for a second, discussing what they would do for the day. 

“We should go to town,” Ashe said, getting straight to the point. 

“Or,” Felix said, thinking. “We could take Riju to do something, then go after lunch.” 

“Yeah!” Riju exclaimed. 

Ashe sighed, smiling in uncertainty. “Well I guess it wouldn’t hurt…?”

Felix nonchalantly fiddled with his scabbard, pondering on what they could do. They could fish? But would that be fun for Riju? Felix hadn’t ever been extremely skilled at fishing, really. Go to tea? No, Riju would make a real ruckus… 

Just then, a shadow clouded the sky, interrupting Felix’s thought process. He looked up to see a wyvern soaring over them. He glanced over at Ashe, who grinned and nodded. “Wyvern ride?”

“Exactly.” Felix responded. 

They got breakfast and shared it with Riju in the courtyard, which was pretty empty, and then they headed to the stables. They asked a stable worker to saddle a wyvern for them. 

Felix was aware both him and Ashe had ridden Wyverns before, so he didn’t worry they would struggle with it at all. What he worried about, was Riju. He let Ashe ride with Riju first, nervously watching Riju clamber on the wyvern, sitting in front of Ashe. 

“Hold tight,” He said, concealing his anxiety. “Make sure you stay close to Ashe. Don’t let go. Don’t stand up. Or mess around.”

“Felix, he’s going to be fine.” Ashe smiled understandingly. Felix huffed,

“I was just warning him… I don’t want to be held responsible for an accident.” He avoided Ashe’s eyes. 

“I’ll make sure he’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Ashe said reassuringly, and then the wyvern skyrocketed into the air at his command. 

Felix’s heart pounded and his hands clasped into tight fists at his sides, clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white. He watched intently, relaxing a bit when they steadily flew for a few minutes. He let out the breath that he had been holding, watching Ashe and Riju laugh as Ashe expertly flew them around. 

Riju looked like he was enjoying himself, but also terrified at the same time. Felix watched them race through the sky at the speed of light.

Finally, they landed, and Ashe got off, smiling at Riju. “Felix’s turn!” 

Felix wasn’t a huge fan of being up in the air, if he had to be honest. Up there, it was hard to use a sword, and he wasn’t in complete control of the Wyvern. On the battlefield, he was used to being in complete control, the only decisions he needed to make were his own. He focused on one task and one task only: finish the mission. 

But in the air, he was light, and he had to depend on the beast to listen to his commands. 

Felix inhaled deeply as he slid onto the saddle behind Riju, tightly clasping the reins in his fingers. The tension building in him was worse this time, for now he was in charge of someone else’s life too, not only his own.

“Hold tight,” he murmured, flicking the reins, and kicking his heels against the scaly sides of the beast. 

The beast rose, soaring into the air, the wind ruffling little Riju’s hair. Riju laughed, and cheered as they ascended, helping Felix to relax a little bit and be less uptight. They swerved, left and right, and right again, Felix getting a handle on the procedures and techniques once more. They flew for a long time, Felix starting to tease Riju a bit, dropping suddenly, causing him to squeal. 

When they landed, they landed laughing. Felix felt good. It had been rather… refreshing. He lifted Riju off the saddle, and then stretched, exercising tight muscles. 

“You’re pretty good up there,” Ashe complimented Felix with a smile.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Felix returned with a curt nod.


	10. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashe, Felix, and Riju head into town to look for his mom where she seems to be nowhere to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashe's POV written by me.

Once Ashe, Felix, and Riju finished riding the wyvern, they grabbed a quick lunch and left for the town to spend the whole afternoon looking for Riju’s mom. According to Riju, his mom’s name was Renée. She had blonde hair and freckles. Despite looking for her for the past few days, they still hadn’t found any sign of her.

“Let’s split up today for a bit,” Ashe suggested. “Then we can meet up back at the city center in an hour.”

“That sounds like a good plan. You should take Riju,” Felix said, ruffling Riju’s hair.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” Ashe grabbed Riju’s hand. “I’ll head down the road on the left and you can head down the road on the right.”

“Sounds good, see you guys in an hour.” Felix waved and walked down the road.

“Okay, let’s go look for your mother,” Ashe said, leading Riju down the opposite road.

Ashe held Riju’s hand as they asked different people if they had perhaps seen or talked to a lady named Renée who might be looking for her lost child, but no one had seen her. A few of them wished him luck on the search for his mother and promised to tell them as soon as they saw a lady with that description. For the whole hour, they had no luck, so they walked to the city center to meet up with Felix.

Felix was already waiting for them when they arrived.

“Did you find her?” Ashe asked.

Felix shook his head.

Should we continue looking for another hour?”

Felix sighed. “Yeah, we probably should.”

You can take Riju this time.” Ashe let go of Riju’s hand a nugged him towards Felix.

Riju held up his hand to Felix. “Can you hold my hand?” 

Felix smiled. “Yeah, of course.” Felix grabbed Riju’s hand and asked, “Meet back here in an hour?”

“Yeah,” Ashe said. “See you guys later.”

“Bye Ashe!” Riju exclaimed.

“Bye Riju!” Ashe waved to them and headed back the way he came.

Ashe continued to ask people if they had seen Riju’s mother, but it seemed that no one knew this lady. It was starting to seem impossible to find his mom,but Ashe finally had asked the right person. They said she had been looking for a small boy around the time Felix and Ashe had left yesterday. Ashe thanked the man and continued his search. He gained no new knowledge the rest of the hour and walked back to the city center.  
Ashe made it there first and sat on the fountain ledge. He’d been walking for 2 hours, so it felt nice to sit down for a bit. Felix and Riju arrived not too long later. Ashe told them of what he heard and Felix had approximately the same information.

“All we have is information from yesterday, but none from today,” Felix said, a frown on his face.

“Yeah, but we got to keep searching.” 

Ashe looked down at Riju sitting in between them. He was swinging his feet back and forth since they couldn’t touch the ground quite yet. A small smile settled at his lips.

“Do you want to separate again?” Felix asked.

Ashe was about to respond when Riju interjected and cried out, “No!” Ashe jumped in surprise.

“I don’t want to be separated,” Riju continued.

“But we can find your mother faster that way.”

“I don’t care,” Riju pouted.

“We could just go down the main street and ask people,” Felix suggested.

Ashe nodded. “Yeah, we could do that.”

Riju hopped down from the fountain ledge and threw up his hands, turning towards them. 

“Come on! Let’s go!” he exclaimed.

A giggle escaped Ashe and a smile spread on Felix’s face. 

“Let’s go then,” Ashe said, grabbing Riju’s hand.

Felix stood up and Riju held out his hand. Felix grabbed it and the three of them headed down the town’s streets.

It wasn’t very long until Riju got bored and started complaining about walking, so Ashe suggested they stop in some stores that Riju wanted to see. The first store Riju chose was a bakery.

As soon as they stepped in, a waft of air was let out. It smelled of bread and other sweet treats. Ashe closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air of baked goods. The bakery wasn’t very busy. It was mid-afternoon when most people were home. 

“What would you like, Riju?” Ashe asked, looking at the menu.

Riju looked at each of the items. 

“Can I have a piece of cake?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course. Do you want anything, Felix?”

Felix looked a bit surprised by the comment, but then said, “No, I don’t like sweets.”

“Are you sure you don’t want anything else?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Okay.”

Ashe ordered a piece of cake for Riju and himself and they both ate it quickly, not wanting to keep Felix waiting too long.

The next shop they went to was an old toy store. Riju didn’t find anything he wanted there, but it was fun to look around anyway. The next shop he spotted was a weapons store. Ashe was a little surprised that he wanted to go there, but they went anyway.

The weapons store had an assortment of weapons, as any weapon store should have. Swords and shields were hung from the walls, along with bows and arrows. The more valuable weapons were held in clear, sealed boxes, only that could be opened by the owner.

Riju wandered around, looking at all the different weapons in awe. It was like he had never seen weapons at all. Felix followed behind him, looking right at home. Riju came across a small dagger that had some blue jewels on the hilt and was slid into a fancy, but simple, sheath. The jewels were, coincidentally, the same color as his eyes. He stared at it for a long time, so Felix asked if he wanted it. He nodded. Felix picked it up and took the dagger out of its sheath. The dagger was nice and sharp and just about the length of Ashe’s forearm. You could tell it was well taken care of. Felix slid it back into its sheath and handed it to Riju.

“I’ll buy it for you,” he said.

Riju’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Do you really think that is a good idea?” Ashe asked, a little nervous with the thought of him having a dagger.

Felix shrugged. “I had a dagger at his age.”

“Well you were trained to become a fighter. We don’t know if his mother will want him to have this.”

“We can just buy it and if his mother doesn’t let him keep it, you can have it,” Felix suggested.

“Okay, that’s reasonable.”

Felix bought the dagger and Riju looked the happiest he’s ever been. Who thought a dagger could make someone so happy?

For the rest of the hour, they questioned people about the whereabouts of Riju’s mother, but there was still no news. They finally went to rest at the fountain in the city center, about to give up.  
Felix sighed. “I guess we didn’t find her.”

“Yeah, but we’ll have to come back to look for her tomorrow!” Ashe exclaimed with fierce determination on his face. 

Felix gave him a side glance. “You never give up, do you?”

“Nope!”

Riju had been playing with the fountain water and splashed Felix with it, surprising him. 

“Haha, got you!” He laughed.

Felix wiped the wet water of his face and smiled. “You’re getting it.”

Felix splashed some water at Riju, but he ducked and it hit Ashe. Ashe was shocked by the sudden water, but then he started to laugh, and soon the three of them were laughing all together.

Ashe wiped a tear from his eye as their laughs started to settle down. “That was quite a good laugh.”

“Yeah, I haven’t laughed like that in a long time,” Felix said.

Riju smiled and pointed at Felix. “You have a funny laugh.”

Felix looked offended for a minute, but then softened with a smile. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Riju?! Is that you?!”

Ashe and Felix looked up to see a lady running towards them.

“Mommy!” Riju cried out.

He ran towards his mom and they both embraced. The lady, who seemed to be his mother, seemed to be crying.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she said. “Where have you been?”

“I got lost and they found me,” Riju said, pointing to Ashe and Felix. “They have been so fun!”

The mother looked up to them. 

“Have you guys been looking after him?” she asked.

“Yes, we have,” Ashe said.

“Thank you so much. I was so worried that he was all alone, but I’m relieved to hear that he was with you. If he had been with anyone else, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

“I’m sorry that it took us so long to find you. It seemed that we just missed each other yesterday.”

“Yeah, it seemed we did.”

The mother stood up and took Riju’s hand. “Thank you again for everything. How can I repay you?”

Ashe looked down at Riju. “There is no need. Being with your son was enough of a payment.”

She smiled at them. “Thank you so much. Riju, say goodbye to your friends.”

Riju let go of his mom’s hand and ran over to Ashe, giving him a big hug. Ashe returned it with just as much force.

“I’ll miss you,” he whispered, sniffling.

“I’ll miss you too,” Ashe whispered back.

As they stayed there, Ashe remembered something.

“How many times did you make Felix smile?” he asked.

Riju held up his ten fingers.

“Wow ten?!” Ashe exclaimed quietly. “You beat me!”

Riju let out a small giggle.

“I love you Riju,” Ashe said softly.

“I love you too,” Riju replied.

He then walked over to Felix and gave him a hug. They whispered some words that Ashe couldn’t hear and then Felix ruffled his hair.

“Here’s your dagger,” Felix said, giving it to the boy.

Riju took it eagerly and rushed over to his mom. “Can I keep it?”

“Of course you can sweetie,” she said.

She took a hold of his hand again and waved. “Thank you again. I hope you guys stay healthy and live good lives!”

“Bye!” Riju exclaimed, waving.

“Bye Riju!” Ashe said, waving back.

Felix smiled and waved, adding another smile to Riju’s count.

After Riju and his mother left, Ashe and Felix made their way back to the monastery, never forgetting the experience they had with Riju.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! It's been fun and we hope you've liked it. It was a completely random storyline, but it worked out somehow. It has been a bit tedious to edit each of the chapters, but it was worth it in the end. Thanks again!

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment anything we could do better/work on!


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